By 2017, Syndacast predicts that roughly 74% of all internet traffic will be video. Video has rapidly taken over social media, news outlets, and company websites and shows no signs of slowing down. And it’s easy to understand why! Video is naturally engaging and easy to digest. With 65% of people being visual learners in an age of information overload, it’s refreshing to come across video content.

Below are 4 reasons to incorporate video into your marketing strategy (if you don’t already):

1. Video is easy to digest

Forrester Research estimates that if a picture is worth 1,000 words, then one minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. Reading 1.8 million words may be daunting, but watching a minute video flies by. Watching video generally requires very little effort if the story is simple and entertaining.

For best results as part of a marketing strategy, 5-15 second videos are recommended and anything over 1 minute is usually too long. According to AdAge, if you have not fully engaged your audience after the first 30 seconds, you’ve most likely lost 33% of viewers; and after one minute, 45% of viewers have stopped watching.

2. Video is great for ROI

Over 50 percent of marketing professionals agree that video produces the highest return on investment (ROI). Moreover, 64% of consumers are more likely to buy a product after watching a video about it, according to CodeFuel. Video also presents an opportunity to connect emotionally with your audience in a way text just doesn’t allow.

Not only is video great for encouraging action and engagement, it’s is much easier to measure than plain text. Part of the reason for this is because video content lives in players and can be tracked even when syndicated all over the web. Thus, you can see exactly how a viewer engaged and for how long.

3. Production costs continue to fall

Big budgets are no longer needed to produce video ads and content. For some time now, small and mid-sized companies with modest budgets have been able to produce professional looking videos. This is largely thanks to the exponential growth in video technology. For instance, most smartphones today have HD video recording capabilities, and user friendly, yet sophisticated editing software such as Final Cut Pro, make it possible for companies to edit their own content.

Perhaps video is most powerful because of the emotional effect it can have on viewers. Using sound, visuals and dialogue, video brings stories to life unlike any other medium and creates genuine connections between audience and brand. Regardless of size, your company will be left behind without incorporating video into your digital marketing strategy.